Kohima: The Nagaland Health and Family Welfare Department scrapped the No Objection Certificate requirement for healthcare workers. Medical, dental, AYUSH, pharmacy, nursing, and allied health professionals can now practice in the state with less paperwork. The Nagaland Simplification of Healthcare Practitioners Registration Notification, 2026, took effect Monday. It aims at “promoting ease of doing business and facilitating the mobility of qualified healthcare professionals within the State.”
Practitioners must hold valid registration from any Indian State or Union Territory. Applicants submit qualification proof, existing registration records, and a self-declaration to the relevant Nagaland Council. Councils process these requests via online portals or offline channels. Officials must issue a registration number “within seven working days” of receiving the files.
Registration starts as provisional. Councils then perform independent verification of all credentials within 30 days. If the Council finds false, misleading, or fabricated information, they will cancel the registration. Practitioners receive a chance to be heard before any formal cancellation order. Providing fake details may trigger disciplinary action or prosecution under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. Even with the new rules, all professionals must still follow existing ethics, rules, and state laws.
Updated at 22nd September 2026 at 9:48am
The new directive places the heavy lifting of document authentication squarely on the shoulders of the state councils. Instead of forcing doctors to chase down paperwork, the councils must now independently verify all qualifications and registration status directly with the issuing body in the practitioner's home state or territory.
State authorities warned that this shortcut does not offer a free pass to rule-breakers. Any practitioner caught submitting fake credentials faces disciplinary action from both their home board and the Nagaland authorities. Officials clarified that the new system stays firmly within the existing disciplinary codes and professional standards required by state law.
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